Oven thermometer glass

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kelhawk1

Posts : 49Join date : 2015-05-20Age : 65Location : Kansas/New Mexico

Subject: Oven thermometer glass Sat Jun 20, 2015 6:13 am

Duhh! Every time I test burn the stoves, my el cheapo oven thermometer looks right back at me. Finally it dawned on me there is a 2 inch diameter piece of high temp glass available for less than 6 bucks. So I searched "large dial oven thermometer" and came up with these links and a picture:http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Service-Classic-Series-Thermometer/dp/B0000DJUYR?

I suspect both models use the same glass, the high heat model just has a greater range. The prices are the clue.

I am so tickled! Just the ticket for my R2D2 stove, and the 2 1/4" high heat glass will fit my door as is. I am considering the 3 1/4" and grinding straight, parallel edges on it. If I blow it...I will learn a lot at little cost. Might be wise to buy two...Don't remove the glass! It should be possible to retain the stainless border around it, by only cutting the back off. This will leave a flange for screws or toe clamps. I see perfect locations for three screws, no? They say you can't cut or grind tempered glass, but the halogen lenses are ground after cutting when they round the corners. To pull this off I would try using a silicone carbide or ceramic abrasive belt, with the glass engaging the belt edge vertically, not horizontally, and on a slack portion of the belt, with no hard back up. Take one swipe, let heat dissipate into the rest of the glass, then repeat. Thermal shock is how grinding will break it, so be aware that a long belt cuts way cooler than say a 4 1/2" angle grinder with flap disc and is the preferred tool. Ceramic abrasives cut cooler, and aluminum oxide probably won't cut at all, mostly just rub. Better still, research the correct way, because for all I know it must be done totally under water. Doubt it tho...

Last edited by kelhawk1 on Sat Jun 20, 2015 6:44 am; edited 1 time in total

kelhawk1

Posts : 49Join date : 2015-05-20Age : 65Location : Kansas/New Mexico

Subject: Re: Oven thermometer glass Sat Jun 20, 2015 6:36 am

Went to Walmart and this one may be a little bigger. When the description said 7.6 inches my heart jumped, but that is overall height, though diameter may be almost 3 3/4".http://www.walmart.com/ip/EKCO-7.6-Oven-Thermometer/17478399

The Taylor large dial 3 1/4" is clearance priced at $5.23, free shipping...if you still have the stomach for Walmart.http://www.walmart.com/ip/Taylor-Precision5932Classic-Oven-Kitchen-Thermometer-CLASSIC-OVEN-THERMOMETER/38068394

kelhawk1

Posts : 49Join date : 2015-05-20Age : 65Location : Kansas/New Mexico

Subject: Re: Oven thermometer glass Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:00 pm

Here's a view glass I made so I could look down my riser through the hole in my heat exchanger without affecting the flame. As far as I know this application is unique to my stoves, but a simple window like this would be an easy and inexpensive addition for a RS door. (Honey? Do you know what happened to the oven thermometer?) I used two machined rings just as I found them in my scrap, joined by three tacks on the inside and three holding the thermometer frame. I learned that one can remove the glass with frame, and still have a usable thermometer if you need. (Honey? What do you mean it doesn't need the glass?!!) I used a 1/16" thick abrasive cutoff wheel but found out that it leaves little room between the dial face and backside of the glass for error, and I actually nicked the glass with it. I would recommend .030" or .045" thick, or a cutoff disc on one of the popular Dremel type tools. I neglected to photo it from the side, but figuring out where to cut should be pretty obvious. The standing support and hanging features are in the way, and easiest to deal with by simply bending them flat with the face or cut them as required for your mounting arrangement. I find that tack welds are faster to apply and remove than bolts or screws in many applications. I am sure grateful that I found T2H's post about welding stainless with a carbon wire feeder! Makes working and modifying my .035 stainless pellet chutes way easier at the very least, and actually possible in some cases. I just now checked on the stove and the glass has cracked in spite of what should have been a very low flame. I was testing a modified pellet feed chute that funneled the pellets into a narrower flame front, hoping to achieve a lower two pound per hour burn rate, which I did. But...apparently the added friction from the funnel walls was stalling the pellet feed, because regular tapping on the pellet chute was required to keep the flame strong. No doubt a flare up from a sudden cascade of pellets brought flame up to the hole while I was inside eating the nachos I just made on it. Should work great on a door as long as it's not exposed to direct flame or any other thermal shock. If it don't last forever they are only $5 new! I will try again after mounting one on a taller tube, with an adjustable stainless mirror above it, so I can monitor the riser flame without getting off the recliner.

This shows the new heat exchanger before adding the 1 1/4" diameter hole that cracked the glass. My first one in is in the backgroundThe older rounded end version has different internal flow dynamics than the new squared end version, and the suction phenomena at the riser hole is more consistent. BTW, this type heat exchanger can be adapted to quickly detach from most RS cooker designs.

kelhawk1

Posts : 49Join date : 2015-05-20Age : 65Location : Kansas/New Mexico

Subject: Re: Oven thermometer glass Mon Jul 06, 2015 1:17 pm

I documented some of my experience with removing and using the glass from the Large Dial Oven Thermometer I feature at the start of this topic. I was able to set up the fixture for the air die grinder in less than 5 minutes from my machinist tools, but the same thing can easily be screwed together from pieces of 2x4, with a common electric hobby grinder taped to it. The two I have cut apart were similar in construction and left no doubt where to cut after some careful scrutiny. As it turned out, I wish I had left more material on the thermometer side, and less on the glass side, but was playing it safe since it's the glass I primarily want, not the thermometer. Judging by how well the glass from my old 300 watt halogen spot light is holding up on my bigger stove, oven thermometer glass should work very well.

The framed glass fit perfect! If my door was any smaller, I would have had to grind flats on the glass and possibly abandon the stainless frame. The only reason I mounted it inside out, was I got tired of grinding the hole bigger cause I didn't have a 2 7/8" hole saw. Plus it looks OK that way, and I can always turn it around if I get bored with it.

gadilyModerator

Posts : 1414Join date : 2013-12-08

Subject: Re: Oven thermometer glass Tue Jul 07, 2015 5:37 am

ya do realise that you are throwing some right ideas onto the forum lol

good ones though

CVI04

Posts : 49Join date : 2015-04-06

Subject: Re: Oven thermometer glass Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:00 pm

Great idea! I bought a small thermometer to use the glass on my stove. Thanks!